Unsteady (Mark of Athena alternate ending)
by JustAnotherQuietBookNerd
Summary: My rather depressing twist on the ending of The Mark of Athena. Annabeth knows that staying together is the only necessity for her and Percy as a couple, but she can't bear to see her boyfriend and best friend killed along with her in Tartarus. So, she lets him go. And falls alone.


**Hey guys! I wrote this waaay back in 2013, and just found it again. I'm hoping to put up more things like this in the near future, especially if there's good feedback. Hope you enjoy! Let me know how you like it, if you want me to continue it, etc. I** **recommend** **listening to the song 'Unsteady' while you read. I tried to fit the length and mood to the song. :)**

 **(In brackets {} is from The Mark of Athena, not my writing. There's a lot that is in the brackets, because I think it's important to have a refresher on what's happening in this scene.)**

 **Disclaimer- the words in brackets are not my own. These characters do not belong to me, and I put a twist on the plot that was created by Rick Riordan. The plotline after the brackets is mine.**

{"It'll be fine," he muttered.

Looking up, she saw grappling lines shoot from the _Argo II_ and wrap around the statue. One lassoed Athena's neck like a noose. Leo shouted orders from the helm as Jason and Frank flew frantically from line to line, trying to secure them.

Nico had just reached the ladder when a sharp pain shot up Annabeth's bad leg. She gasped and stumbled.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

She tried to stagger toward the ladder. Why was she moving backward instead? Her legs swept out from under her and she fell on her face.

"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"

Annabeth's mind was woolly from the pain. Cut her ankle?

Apparently Percy didn't realize what Hazel meant either. Then something yanked Annabeth backward and dragged her toward the pit. Percy lunged. He grabbed her arm, but the momentum carried him along as well.

"Help them!" Hazel yelled.

Annabeth glimpsed Nico hobbling in their direction, Hazel trying to disentangle her cavalry sword from the rope ladder. Their other friends were still focused on the statue, and Hazel's cry was lost in the general shouting and the rumbling of the cavern.

Annabeth sobbed as she hit the edge of the pit. Her legs went over the side. Too late, she realized what was happening: she was tangled in the spider silk. She should have cut it away immediately. She had thought it was just a loose line, but with the entire floor covered in cobwebs, she hadn't noticed that one of the strands was wrapped around her foot-and the other end went straight into the pit. It was attached to something heavy down in the darkness, something that was pulling her in.

"No," Percy muttered, light dawning in his eyes. "My sword…"

But he couldn't reach Riptide without letting go of Annabeth's arm, and Annabeth's strength was gone. She slipped over the edge. Percy fell with her.

Her body slammed into something. She must have blacked out briefly from the pain. When she could see again, she realized that she'd fallen partway into the pit and was dangling over the void. Percy had managed to grab a ledge around fifteen feet below the top of the chasm. He was holding on with one hand, gripping Annabeth's wrist with the other, but the pull on her leg was much too strong.

 _No escape,_ said a voice in the darkness below _. I go to Tartarus, and you will come too._ Annabeth wasn't sure if she actually heard Arachne's voice or if it was just in her mind.

The pit shook. Percy was the only thing keeping her from falling. He was barely holding onto a ledge the size of a bookshelf.

Nico leaned over the edge of the chasm, thrusting out his hand, but he was much too far away to help. Hazel was yelling for the others, but even if they had head her over all the chaos, they'd never make it in time.

Annabeth's leg felt like it was pulling free of her body. Pain washed everything in red. The force of the Underworld tugged at her like dark gravity. She didn't have the strength to fight. She knew she was too far down to be saved.

"Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."

His face was white with effort. She could see it in his eyes that he knew it was hopeless.

"Never," he said. He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"

Nico's eyes widened. "But-"

"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"

"I-I will."

Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness. _Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess._

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.

"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

Only then did she understand what would happen. _A one way trip. A very hard fall_.}

"No," she whispered. "I can't let you,"

Frank had heard Hazel's cries for help, and as an eagle, flew down to meet them. It was obvious that he was having trouble staying aloft with the pull from Tartarus, there was no way for him to support two more people. One of his claws had Percy's upper arm, but he was struggling.

With her free hand, Annabeth pulled at Percy's fingers. His eyes widened in fear.

"No,"

"I love you," Her voice cracked as she pulled free.

" _NO!_ " His voice was heard above the chaos in the cavern, pulling attention to them.

"Annabeth!" Hazel's scream was hoarse, all her fear pouring into her friend's name.

With Annabeth's weight gone, Frank was able to pull Percy to the edge, but Percy resisted with his remaining strength.

Annabeth hugged herself as she fell, watching the rapidly disappearing scene.

 _They're safe._

 **Percy**

Nico and Hazel were at his side immediately as he fell to his knees. She was gone. They put their hands on Percy's arms, as if to hold him back, but he knew that he was too late. There would be no way to save her. No way to catch up to where the was if he jumped in after her.

Too late.

It didn't stop him.


End file.
